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AN 


iiA-B-C  OF  HOUSING 


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Published  by 


The  Commission  of  Immigration  and  Housing 
of  f  California 


California 

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ciJity 


'g'iOnaJ  California 

State  Printing  Office 
1916 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Arciiive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/abcofhousingOOcaliiala 


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PREFACE. 

This  pamphlet  is  intended  to  serve  as  a  primer  on  housing.  It  is  in 
no  way  a  technical  treatise  on  this  complex  subject,  nor  is  it  proposed 
as  an  outline  for  a  housing  ordinance.  The  Commission  publishes 
this  material  for  the  general  public  in  the  hope  that  many  people  may 
become  interested  in  the  housing  question.  A  movement  for  better 
housing  conditions  in  any  community  can  not  succeed  unless  it  has  the 
intelligent  approval  of  the  majority  of  citizens. 

Moreover,  suggestions  are  made  which  will  enable  an  industrious  few 
to  survey  and  study  the  general  housing  evils  and  problems  peculiar 
to  any  one  community.  The  Commission  invites  correspondence  con- 
cerning the  subject  matter  of  this  pamphlet  and,  on  request,  will  send 
a  detailed  plan  of  directions  for  making  a  complete  housing  survey  of 
a  city  or  town.  "Whenever  advisable  the  Commission  will  send,  without 
cost  to  a  community,  a  housing  expert  to  conduct  such  surveys. 

COMMISSION  OF  IMMIGRATION  AND 
HOUSING  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

J.  H.  McBRroE. 
Mary  S.  Gibson. 
Edward  J.  Hanna. 
Paul  Scharrenberg. 
Simon  J.  Lubin. 


A.    THE  SURVEY. 

Few,  if  any,  of  our  cities  have  housing  conditions  that  are  above 
criticism.  And  few  know  just  what  their  housing  conditions  really 
are.  The  intelligent,  up-to-date  municipality  will  take  stock  of  its 
afTairs,  that  it  may  be  in  a  position  to  remedy  the  evils  that  exist, 
and  to  anticipate  worse  evils  that  otherwise  might  appear  in  the 
future.    This  municipal  stocktaking  is  called  a  survey. 

The  Commission  of  Immigration  and  Housing  of  California  is 
prepared  to  assist  cities  desiring  to  make  such  a  survey,  by  suggest- 
ing a  detailed  working  plan  and  offering  personal  expert  service 
where  required. 


In  any  general  plan  for  good  housing  in  a  city  the  first  thing  to  do 
is  to  make  a  survey,  devoting  special  attention  to  poorer  quarters  and 
the  homes  of  aliens.  Surveys  are  best  made  by  men  and  women  inves- 
tigators working  together,  and  they  should  be  able  to  speak  the 
language  of  aliens  whose  homes  they  inspect. 


After  a  thorough  survey  the  community  should  be  educated  by 
having  photographs  made  of  bad  conditions  and  showing  the  public 
what  they  are,  and  where  they  are,  and  how  they  can  be  remedied.  It 
is  bad  policy  to  try  to  hide  things.     Concealment  is  ultimately  expensive. 


—  5  — 
B.    THE  CITY  PLAN.* 

A  carefully  made  survey  will  reveal  the  need  of  a  City  Plan, 
indicating  certain  changes  in  the  existing  lay-out  and  providing  for 
future  growth. 


The  city  should  have  a  plan  for  streets,  parks,  playgrounds  and 
buildings.  If  possible  the  plan  should  provide  for  detached  one  family 
houses,  with  lawn  and  room  for  rear  garden. 


This  is  the  ideal  arrangement;  but  where  houses  are  connecting,  as 
is  often  necessary  for  economy,  there  should,  at  least,  be  vacant  space 
in  front  or  in  rear  or  both. 


A  plan  for  additions  to  a  city  or  for  making  changes  in  housing  in 
manufacturing  centers  should  provide  space  for  homes  of  working 
people. 

Laboring  people  should  live  near  their  work.  A  ride  of  a  laboring 
man  to  or  from  his  work  of  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  con- 
sumes time  and  money  that  he  can  not  afford.  If  he  is  in  a  good  loca- 
tion, the  nearer  he  is  to  his  work,  the  more  time  he  will  have  for  home 
work  and  leisure,  and  in  addition  save  money  in  transportation. 


The  kind  of  homes  made  possible  for  laboring  people  adapted  to  their 
needs  in  price  and  location  may  vary  with  location. 

"With  the  possible  exception  of  those  living  in  large  cities,  each 
family  should  have  a  separate  home.  The  problem  is  to  have  detached 
homes  with  the  conveniences  of  private  bath,  good  plumbing  and  lot 
space  at  a  price  that  laborers  can  afford  to  pay. 

•Chapter  428,  Statutes  of  California,  1915,  page  708,  provides  for  the  creation  of 
city  planning  commissions. 


—  6  — 

Workingmen 's  homes  have  been  built  in  Washington  City,  Phila- 
delphia, and  Cincinnati  that  are  sanitary,  having  a  private  bath  and 
a  basement,  for  a  rental  of  $7.50,  $8.50,  $10.50,  $12.50  per  month. 
Owing  to  the  high  price  of  land  in  these  cities  these  buildings  are  in 
solid  blocks.  One  day's  wage  of  a  workingman  should  equal  one  week's 
rent  of  house. 


In  California  cheap  detached  homes  could  probably  be  furnished 
with  all  conveniences  and  ample  lot  space  for  a  rental  equally  low. 


Factories  should  be  so  located  that  prevailing  winds  will  carry  smoke 
and  dust  away  from  residences. 


Livery  stables  should  not  be  allowed  in  a  residence  district.  As 
horse  manure  is  a  favorite  breeding  place  for  flies,  it  should  always  be 
screened. 


C.     HOUSING  REGULATIONS. 

The  City  Plan  has  to  do  with  the  general  lay-out  of  a  town  in 
regard  to  zones  of  residence  and  industry,  playgrounds,  parks, 
schools,  etc.  Along  with  this  there  should  be  certain  housing  regu- 
lations. 

The  State  of  California  has  laws  regulating  tenements  and  lodging 
houses.  As  yet,  there  is  no  state  regulation  of  single  or  separate 
dwellings. 

Municipal  housing  regulations  relate  to  (1)  construction  or  (2) 
sanitation. 

(1)   Construction. 

Every  city  should  have  a  building  ordinance.  It  should  specify 
how  houses  should  be  constructed,  the  cubic  air  space  in  rooms,  the 
amount  of  space  each  building  might  occupy  on  a  lot,  location  of  fire 
escapes. 


The  ordinance  should  only  grant  discretionary  power  to  building 
inspectors  or  other  officers  to  a  very  limited  extent  and  this  limit  should 
be  carefully  specified.  Discretionary  power  is  dangerous  and  might 
defeat  the  law. 


A  city  building  ordinance  should  specify  the  minimum  height  of 
ceilings,  window  space  or  light  area,  and  floor  space  per  person. 


Dark,  windowless  rooms  should  not  be  permitted.  Every  room 
should  have  two  windows  and,  if  possible,  arrangement  for  cross  ven- 
tilation. 


Tenements  for  two  or  more  families  should  have  separate  entrances. 
Halls  should  always  be  lighted. 


—  8  — 
Houses  should  not  be  allowed  on  alleys. 


Rear  tenements  should  be  forbidden. 


All  residence  buildings  should  be  several  inches  above  the  ground. 
The  areas  for  ventilation  in  foundation  should  be  screened  to  keep 
out  animals  and  insects. 


(2)  Sanitation. 

(A)   Sanitary  inspection. 

The  problem  of  the  care  of  houses  is  more  a  sanitary  than  a  structural 
one.  It  is  less  how  a  house  is  built,  though  this  is  important,  than 
whether  it  is  clean  or  dirty,  sanitary  or  insanitary. 


A  well  built  house  may  be  unfit  to  live  in ;  a  poorly  built  and  incon- 
veniently arranged  house  may  be  a  model  of  cleanliness  and  health- 
fulness. 


All  matters  of  a  sanitary  nature  in  the  construction  of  houses  should 
be  referred  to  the  health  department.  The  health  department  should 
examine  plans  of  buildings  and  see  that  ordinances  are  complied  with. 


The  health  officer  should  have  power  to  declare  buildings  unfit  for 
habitation. 


"When  a  house  is  declared  unfit  to  live  in  it  should  either  be  made  fit 
for  use  or  it  should  be  destroyed.  Houses  abandoned  and  left  stand- 
ing are  a  menace. 


A  health  department  should  not  wait  for  complaints.     Inspectors 
should  go  out  and  investigate  suspected  houses. 


There  should  be  some  arrangement  by  which  a  permanent  committee 
should  study  and  report  on  housing  conditions. 


The  committee  should  be  representative  and  have  a  physician,  a 
lawyer,  an  architect,  a  clergyman,  a  representative  of  labor,  a  business 
man ;  be  made  up  of  natives  and  foreigners,  men  and  women. 


Once  a  year  the  committee  should  go  through  the  poorer  parts  of  the 
town  and  inspect  conditions. 


It  would  be  well  for  every  town  and  city  to  have  a  clearing-house  for 
tenants  and  also  for  landlords.  Tenants  might  thereby  get  reliable 
information  in  regard  to  landlords  and  the  latter  learn  of  desirable 
tenants. 


There  is  no  greater  force  for  sanitary  homes  among  the  poor  than 
that  of  a  visiting  nurse  who  will  instruct  housekeepers  in  such  matters 
and  teach  them  cleanliness  in  sympathetic  and  helpful  ways.     Such  a 


—  10  — 

nurse  exercising  patience  and  tact  will  be  welcomed  by  the  poor.  A 
nurse  should  also  be  instructed  to  report  neglect  of  landlords,  as 
tenants  fear  unpleasant  consequences  from  making  complaints. 


(B)  Ventilation. 

The  size  of  rooms  is  less  important  than  facilities  for  ventilation. 
A  small  room  well  ventilated  may  be  better  for  two  people  than  a  large 
loom  poorly  ventilated  may  be  for  one  person. 


The  vital  thing  in  room  ventilation  is  an  arrangement  for  keeping  the 
air  moving.  Stagnant  air  is  oppressive,  moving  air,  though  not  per- 
fectly pure,  may  be  quite  comfortable. 


One  chief  danger  in  any  community  is  overcrowding  of  the  poor, 
especially  in  the  sleeping  quarters.  A  number  of  people  will  sometimes 
crowd  in  one  room  at  night  to  sleep,  and  in  a  house  where  there  are 
several  vacant  rooms.  The  only  remedy  for  this  is  night  inspection 
and,  possibly,  education  of  the  people  themselves. 


(C)  Surroundings. 

An  important  feature  of  good  housing  is  the  immediate  surroundings 
of  houses. 


Where  residence  lots  are  fenced  these  should  be  of  wire. 


—  11  — 

A  dirty  yard,  neglected  or  open  garbage  cans,  stagnant  water,  slops 
thrown  on  the  ground,  damp  places,  any  of  these  may  impair  the 
advantages  of  the  best  arranged  home. 


A  landlord  should  be  required  to  see  that  all  parts  of  a  building  are 
kept  free  from  dirt  and  rubbish,  that  cellars  are  free  from  dampness, 
that  walls  are  painted  or  calcimined  when  necessary,  that  the  roof  be 
not  allowed  to  leak  and  that  receptacles  for  ashes  and  rubbish  be  fur- 
nished and  kept  in  repair. 


Houses  occupied  by  six  or  more  families  should  have  a  caretaker 
who  is  responsible  to  the  owner. 


(D)   Care  of  alleys. 
Alleys  should  be  paved  and  curbed. 


An  ordinance  should  forbid  the  throwing  of  rubbish  or  garbage  into 
an  alley.  Unused  articles  such  as  boxes,  barrels,  ashes,  broken  carts, 
etc.,  should  not  be  allowed  in  alleys. 


An  ordinance  should  provide  for  carts  gathering  rubbish  and  garbage 
at  regular  intervals. 


Rubbish    and    garbage    should   be    placed    in    separate    receptacles, 
preferably  in  galvanized  iron  cans  with  tight  fitting  covers. 


—  12  — 

In  towns  and  cities  where  private  residences  abut  up«n  alleys,  open 
Avire  fences  are  better  than  board  fences.  A  board  fence  is  a  screen 
for  all  kinds  of  rubbish  and  dirt.  A  wire  fence  allows  for  vines, 
flowers,  and  shrubbery. 


An  alley  should  be  as  clean  as  a  residence  street.  Talks  should  be 
given  in  schools  on  the  subject  of  clean  streets  and  alleys  and  on  the 
dangers  of  disease  and  fires  from  piles  of  rubbish. 


The  most  sanitary  home  may  be  made  insanitary  by  rubbish  and 
filth  in  an  adjoining  alley. 


Fires  occur  from  waste  paper  and  rubbish  thrown  in  alleys.  Loose 
pieces  of  paper  are  blown  about  the  street  where  they  are  picked  up 
at  the  expense  of  the  city,  because  of  people's  carelessness. 


(E)   General. 

Homes  should  be  kept  free  from  flies,  fleas  and  bed-bugs.     They 
carry  disease. 


Mice  and  rats  carry  disease.     They  are  dangerous  in  a  home. 


Ice  and  milk  are  not  infrequently  infected,  either  before  entering  a 
private  home  or  while  in  the  home.  They  should  be  protected  from 
dust  and  flies. 


—  13  — 

Ice  boxes  may  be  sources  of  infection.     They  should  be  thoroughly 
cleaned  several  times  each  year. 


If  there  is  a  sewer  system  in  a  town,  cesspools  and  privies  should  be 
forbidden. 


If  a  town  is  too  small  to  afford  a  sewer  system,  privies  should  be 
located  where  they  will  not  pollute  wells.  Privy  openings  should  be 
protected  from  flies  by  screens. 


The  sanitary  arrangement  of  bakeries  should  be  specified  in  ordi- 
nances and  inspectors  should  see  to  their  enforcement. 


NOTE. 

Any  suggestion  concerning  the  land  problem  in 
connection  with  housing  has  been  intentionally 
omitted  in  the  preceding  pages.  The  Commission 
fully  realizes  that  the  questions  of  land  holding, 
taxation,  valuation,  etc.,  have  a  most  important 
bearing  upon  the  general  housing  problem,  and  par- 
ticularly u{)on  the  problem  of  housing  congestion. 
But  the  Commission  also  realizes  that  these  problems 
require  the  deepest  study,  and  does  not,  at  the 
present  time,  deem  it  proper  to  offer  suggestions  or 
recommendations.  A  thorough  investigation  is  be- 
ing made  concerning  the  land  situation  in  the  State 
and,  in  the  course  of  time,  the  Commission  plans  to 
publish  its  conclusions  on  this  fundamental  question. 


—  14  — 
BRIEF  LIST  OF  BOOKS  ON  HOUSING  AND  CITY  PLANNING. 

United  States. 
Housing  Reform — Veiller,  L. 

Survey  Associates,  105  East  Twenty-second  street,  New  York.    $1.25.    1910. 
Model  Tenement  House  Law — Veiller,  L. 

Survey  Associates,  105  East  Twenty-second  street,  New  'York.    $1.25.    1910. 
Model  Housing  Law — Veiller,  L. 

Survey  Associates,  105  East  Twenty-second  street,  New  York.    $2. 
First  Report  of  the  Tenement  House  Department  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

National  Housing  Association,  105  East  Twenty-second  street,  New  York.   $2.90, 
postpaid. 
Tenement  House  Problem — deForest  and  Veiller,  editors. 

National  Housing  Association,  105  East  Twenty-second  street.  New  York.    1903. 
$3.     Postpaid,  $3.40. 
Housing  Problems  in  America. 

Proceedings,  Vol.  I,  1911;  Vol.  II,  1912;  Vol.  Ill,  1913.    $2  per  vol.,  postpaid. 
National  Housing  Association  pamphlets,  5  and  10  cents  each. 
The  Housing  Awakening  series  in  the  Survey,  1910-11. 

Description  of  housing  conditions  in  typical  American  cities.     10  cents  and  25 
cents  for  magazine  numbers.    Total,  $2.65  for  the  13  numbers. 
Housing  of  the  Working  People — Gould,  E.  R.  L. 

Eighth    Special    Report   of    the    Commissioner    of    Labor,    Washington.      1895. 
Gratis. 
Housing   of   the   Working   People    in    the    United    States    by    Employers — Hangar, 
G.  W.  W. 

Bulletin,  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  54,  Washington.     1904.     Gratis. 
Model  Factories  and  Villages — Meakin,  Budgett. 

Geo.  N.  Jacobs  &  Co.,  Philadelphia.    1906.    $2. 
Building  and  Loan  Associations  in  the  United  States — Hangar,  G.  W.  W. 

Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor,  No.  55,  Washington,  D.  C.    1904.     Gratis. 
Tenement  House  Inspector — Price,  Geo.  M.,  M.D. 

A   textbook   for   civil   service   candidates    for   the   positions   of   tenement   house 
inspectors  and  clerks,  also  for  sanitary  and  building  inspectors,  etc.     Pub- 
lished by  The  Chief  Pub.  Co.,  New  York  City.     1910.     2d  edition.     $1.50. 
(Based  on  the  New  York  Tenement  House  Law.) 
House  Fly :  Disease  Carder — Howard,  L.  O. 

Stokes,  N.  Y.    $1.60.     1911. 
Beauty  for  Ashes — Fellows  Bacon,  Mrs.  Albion. 

Dodd,  Mead  &  Co.,  Fourth  avenue  and  Thirtieth  street.  New  York  City.    $1.50, 
plus  postage. 
The  Modem  City  and  Its  Problems — Howe,  Frederic  C. 
Scribner's.     1915.    $1.50. 

England. 
Housing  of  the  Working  Classes  Acts,  1890-1909,  and  Town  Planning — Allan,  C.  E., 
and  Allan,  F.  G. 

Annotated  and  explained.     3d  ed.     Pub.  by  Butterworth,  London.     1911.     $3, 
imported. 
Handbook  to  the  Housing  and  Town  Planning  Act,  1909 — ^Thompson,  W. 

Pub.  by  the  National  Housing  Reform  Council,  4  Travistock  square,  London, 
W.  C.     1910.     Paper  covers  Is.,  cloth  covers  2s. 
Public  Health  and  Housing — Sykes,  J.  J. 

P.  S.  King  &  Co.,  London.    5s.  net.     Imported,  $1.50. 
Practical  Housing— ^Nettlefold,  J.  S. 

Garden  City  Press,   Letchworth.     Cloth  bound.     1908.     Popular  edition  with 
chapter  on  Housing  and  Town  Planning.     Act  of  1909-1910.     Price,  Is. 
net,  paper;  2s.   net,  cloth. 
Back  to  Back  Houses — Mair,  Dr.  Darra. 

Local  Government  Board,  London.     Price,  3d. 


L 


Proceedings   of   the   Housing   Section,    National    Uonterence   6n    tU^   iT^VSHllOB    of 
Destitution,  1912. 

Pub.  by  P.  S.  King  &  Son,  Orchard  House,  Westminster.    Price,  2s.  6d. 
Housing  of  the  Working  Classes,  1855-1912. 

London  County  Council. 
Liverpool  Town  Planning  and  Housing  Exhibition,  March,  1914,  Transactions. 

University  Press  of  Liverpool.     Price,  $1.83. 
Practical  Town  Planning — Nettlefold,  John  S. 

Is.  net. 

Garden   Cities  and   Villages. 
Garden  Cities  of  Tomorrow — Howard,  Ebenezer. 

Pub.  by  Swan,  Sonnerschein  &  Co.,  Lt.,  Paternoster  square,  London.    1912. 
Garden  Suburbs,  Villages  and  Homes — Vivian,  Henry,  and  others. 

Pub.  by  Garden  City  Press,  Letch  worth.     Price,  9d.,  postpaid. 
The  Pioneer  Co-partnership  Suburb. 

Pub.  by  Garden  City  Press,  Letchworth.     Price,  4d.,  postpaid. 

Other  Co-partnership  Tenants  publications,  6  Bloomsbury  square,  London,  W.  C. 
The  Garden  City  Movement  Up  to  Date — Culpin,  Edwart  G. 

Pub.  by  Garden  Cities  and  Town  Planning  Association.     1913.     PriM,  35  cents. 
Labor  and  Housing  at  Port  Sunlight — George,  W.  L. 

Alston  Rivers,  London.    8s.  6d.  net. 

Germany. 
Handbuch  des  Wohnungswesens  und  der  Wolmungsfrage — Eberstadt,  Prof.  Dr.  Rud. 

Pub.  by  Gustav  Fischer,  Jena.    1910. 
Konnen  die  in   den  heutigen   grosstadtischen   Wohnverhaltnisseu   liegenden   Mangel 
and  Schaden  behoben  werden? — Weiss,  Albert 

Pub.  by  Carl  Heymann,  Berlin.    1912. 
Tatigk.eit  der  Stadt  Ulm  D.,  etc.,  1903 — Oberburgermeister,  Wagner. 

Pub.  by  J.  Ebner,  Ulm.  D. 
Improvement  of  Dwellings,  etc. :  The  Example  of  Germany — Horsfal,  T.  C. 

University  Press,  Manchester.    1905.    Price,  Is. 
Da  Arbeiter  Wohuhaus — Mackowsky. 

Pub.  by  Ernest  Wasmuth,  Berlin.     Price,  $1.25. 
Publications  of  the  German  Garden  City  Association. 

The  monthly  magazine   Oartenstadt.     5  M.   per  year.     General   Secretary   A. 
Otto,  Schlachtensee,  Berlin. 
Stadbau. 

A  monthly  magazine.    $6  per  year.    Vol.  I.    1904  to  date. 

Miscellaneous. 
Proceedings  of  the  International  Housing  Congress,  London,  Vienna,  The  Hague,  etc. 
Address  O.  Velghe,  Secretary  Permanent  Committee,  Director  General  of  the 
Sanitary  Board,  Brussels,  Belgium. 
Proceedings  of  the  National  City  Planning  Conference,  1909  to  date. 

$2  per  vol.     Address  Flavel   Shurtleff,  Secretary,  19  Congress  street,  Boston, 
Mass. 
Width  and  Arrangement  of  Streets — Robinson,  C.  M. 

McGraw.     1911.    $2. 
The  Survey. 

105  East  Twenty-second  street.  New  York  City. 
The  American  City. 

93  Nassau  street.  New  York  City. 
Principles  of  City  Land  Values — Hurd,  Richard  M. 

3d  edition.     1911.     Pub.  by  the  Record  and  Guide,  119  West  Fortieth  street, 
New  York  City. 
The  City  Plan — National  City  Planning  Conference. 
19  Congress  street,  Boston,  Mass.     $5. 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A     000  907  017    8 


W^ 


The  Commission  invites  correspondence  concern- 
ing tne  subject  matter  of  this  pamphlet. 

On  request,  the  Commission  will  send  a  detailed 
plan  of  directions  for  making  a  housing  survey  of 
a  city  or  town. 

Whenever  advisable  the  Commission  will  send  a 
housing  expert,  without  cost  to  the  community,  to 


conduct  housing  surveys. 


>R^^' 


v,os 


Universi 
Southi 


